(VOVWORLD) - The US Department of Commerce on Wednesday announced import restrictions on five Chinese companies, saying they use forced labor. These restrictions worsen the deteriorating US-China relations.
 (Illustrative photo: AP) |
The sanctioned Chinese companies are major producers of monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon used in the manufacture of solar panels. The relationship between the world's two largest economies is quickly deteriorating, contrary to expectations that US-China relations might improve when Joe Biden became US President.
US tough on China
The ban was announced less than three weeks after President Biden signed an executive order adding 28 Chinese companies to a black list for their alleged involvement in spying and hacking defense technology, raising to 59 the total number of Chinese companies in which US citizens cannot invest.
During Biden’s first trip to Europe last week, the US ramped up coordination with its allies against China. US-led NATO for the first time issued a joint statement calling China's ambitions and assertive behavior “systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security.” The G7 Summit, whose members are US allies, made clear their viewpoints on a series of issues considered sensitive and triggering fierce protest from China, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Xinjiang. China reacted vehemently to the joint statement.
Slim chance of improving relationship
Some observers did not rule out the possibility of improving US-China relations, even if at a low level. There are hopes for a face-to-face summit when President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping attend the G20 Summit in Rome this October. A Biden-Xi meeting became more likely after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last Thursday that Washington is interested in hosting a summit between the two to clarify their relationship, similar to the meeting between Biden and Putin last Wednesday in Geneva.
Disagreements over trade, human rights, and the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) have brought US-China relations to their lowest point in the decades since the Cold War. Analysts think a US-China summit is unlikely in the near future. And if it happens, there is little chance of producing positive results as seen in the meeting between US and Chinese senior diplomats in Alaska in March.
But most agree a US-China summit should be held at an appropriate time and, of course, be well prepared. A summit could have the effect of slowing the downward momentum of the relationship and clarifying each country’s position.